Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstress Analysis

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There are many symbols in books as well as short stories. In the book, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, as well as the short stories “The Masque of Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, there are many symbols representing many different things. The only things that determine the meanings of the symbols are the context and the reader; for example, glasses can represent wisdom, blindness, or education all depending on the way they are interpreted. Some examples of symbolism in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress include the little seamstress’s pink shoes, which can represent feminism or kindness. Symbolism is also seen when the bull (communism) crushed Four Eyes’ glasses (education), leaving him helpless. Another example of symbolism is the blood in the village head master’s eyes, which represents communism and the communistic control he has over the children being re-educated. …show more content…

The rooms of the palace in the short story represent different stages of life. The blue room represents birth, the purple room represents growing up, green is the spring of life and youthfulness, orange is maturing like autumn leaves, the white room represents aging and getting older, the violet room is darkness, and finally the black room is symbolizing death. Another example of symbolism is seen in the story on page two: “while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused revery or meditation” (Poe). This ringing of the clock in “The Masque of Red Death” symbolizes the shortness of life and is a reminder to those attending the masquerade that death is near and there is no escaping

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